Box Office Bulletin: A "Hangover" of Epic Proportions!

Via Box Office Mojo, The Numbers, Deadline, and other sources:

The supposed box office slump plaguing Hollywood has vanished as this past weekend may ultimately become the biggest Memorial Day weekend of all time, paced by the 1-2 punch of "The Hangover Part II" and "Kung Fu Panda 2".

THE HANGOVER PART II

First and foremost, the conversation starts with "The Hangover Part II" which delivered the third largest Thursday opening of all time ($31.6 million) and followed it up with the largest R-rated live action comedy opening ever. With a staggering 4-day take of $118.1 million, the film crushed the first film's 4-day start of $52.6 million. Now granted, things are much different this time around as the first film finished up with $467 million worldwide and one of the most popular comedies of the last several years. Additionally, "The Hangover Part II" was arguably the most anticipated mainstream release of the first half of 2011.

Surviving a tepid critical response, "The Hangover Part II" seemed made of teflon and reviews of a positive or negative vibe would not and did not matter at all. With "Part II" not as fresh or as original as "Part One" and largely a retread of the story and plot from the first film, industry analysts were wondering if word-of-mouth would lead to audiences diminishing as the weekend went on. Clearly, that was and is not the case and this "Hangover" is a certifiable smash.

KUNG FU PANDA 2

Receiving smaller than expected numbers, "Kung Fu Panda 2" nonetheless brought in an estimated $53.8 million in its opening four days. This effort at counterprogramming was expected to match or exceed the opening weekend of 2008's "Kung Fu Panda", as that film began with $60.2 million in 3 days domestically, before earning a massive $631.7 million worldwide haul.

Interestingly, audiences overseas bested the North American box office totals, as "Panda 2" earned $57 million across the water. The reaction internally is apparently mixed with some analysts saying that when the 5-day count concludes, the film will be precisely where they expected (approximately $65 stateside), while others reportedly felt the film would finish with a bigger figure. Budgeted at $150 million, the film will be profitable worldwide by next weekend, but may struggle to match the domestic take of the first film's $215 million.

More updates to come through the rest of the Memorial Day weekend, but two films, released on a much smaller scale, turned heads in a big way after the cut!

THE TREE OF LIFE

Terrence Malick's long-gestating "The Tree Of Life" finally debuted to paying customers after a mixed response at the Cannes Film Festival. People came out in droves at the 4 locations the film played at. With an impressive $88,000 per screen average, the film estimated a 3-day take of $352,000, setting up nicely for its long planned city-by-city rollout. Fox Searchlight has mapped out a strategy to drop this in a few cities every weekend through the end of June when the film will have its widest visibility. Budgeted for $32 million, "The Tree Of Life" has started strong, but the polarizing reaction it apparently inspires in those who see it, leave it a wild card in determining the film's ultimate appeal and bankability.

MIDNIGHT IN PARIS

Woody Allen's "Midnight In Paris" is clearly not a fluke as it will safely land in the Top 10 with a mere 58 locations screening the film. After it landed just outside the Top 10 last weekend on just 6 screens, the film saw its attendance skyrocket 220% to haul in $1.9 million for the weekend and $2.8 overall domestic. Rolling along with another $11 million in overseas receipts, Allen has not had a film this well received in years and the film is becoming the topic of conversation not just amongst cinephiles but more mainstream audiences. "Midnight In Paris" is one of the biggest breakout surprises thus far of 2011.

AND ELSEWHERE...

"Pirates Of The Caribbean..." hemorrhaged a rough 56.4% in its second weekend, losing more audience than anticipated to the "Hangover" and "Kung Fu Panda" crowds in North America. Banking $39.3 millio for the 3-day weekend, the film has earned $153 million in 10 days stateside and a remarkable $471 million overseas for a total of $624 million. Can the film continue on to $1 billion? Things are looking positive on that front.

"Bridesmaids" dropped only 21.6% competing with "The Hangover Part II" and has earned $85 million. Well on its way to surging past $100 million, the film continues to draw new and repeat business, almost in spite of new releases hitting the multiplex.

OVERALL...

The 3-day weekend box office earned an estimated $216.4 million grossed by the Top 12 films, a gain of an additional 36.3% from the previous weekend, continuing the path towards the biggest Memorial Day Weekend of all time. The Top 12 from the same 3-day Memorial Day weekend in 2010 grossed $145.3 million, aided by the $43.3 million second weekend for "Shrek Forever After".

THE TOP 10 (Weekend Estimates, with 4-Day Estimates on Monday, and Actuals on Tuesday)

1. "The Hangover Part II" (Warner Bros.), $86.5 million, $118.1 million, NEW
2. "Kung Fu Panda 2" (Paramount/DreamWorks), $48.0 million, $53.8 million, NEW
3. "Pirates...On Stranger Tides" (Buena Vista), $39.3 million, $152.9 million, 2 wks
4. "Bridesmaids" (Universal), $16.4 million, $85.0 million, 3 wks
5. "Thor" (Paramount), $9.4 million, $159.7 million, 4 wks
6. "Fast Five" (Universal), $6.6 million, $196.0 million, 5 wks
7. "Midnight In Paris" (Sony Classics), $1.92 million, $2.8 million, 2 wks
8. "Jumping The Broom" (TriStar/Sony/Columbia), $1.90 million, $34.2 million, 4 wks
9. "Something Borrowed" (Warner Bros.), $1.85 million, $34.8 million, 4 wks
10. "Rio" (20th Century Fox), $1.78, $134.8 million, 7 wks

Box Office Actuals: May 20-22, 2011

Via Box Office Mojo, The Numbers, Deadline, and other sources:

Estimates were spot on with the fourth entry in the "Pirates of the Caribbean" series as "...On Stranger Tides" kickstarted its run with $90.1 million, helped with also having the widest opening of 2011 at 4,155 locations. Aided by higher 3-D prices, a little more investigation learns why this biggest opening of 2011 was viewed as "soft" and a "disappointment" in North America.

When calculating numbers, Box Office Mojo reports that this "Pirates" suffered the lightest attended opening since the first film launched in 2003. That first offering drew repeat business again and again and grossed $305.4 million domestically and $654 million worldwide. As reported here yesterday, the "Pirates" films have generated ticket sales of more than $2.2 billion thus far and if excitement was muted in North America, Disney and Buena Vista were downright giddy with the worldwide reception of "...On Stranger Tides".

Audiences were galvanized by the return of Captain Jack Sparrow to the tune of more than $256 million in foreign receipts counted. Already, "POTC:OST" has grossed $346 million worldwide. In looking at the 50 biggest grossing films of all time worldwide, the three previous "Pirates" films all rank on the list. Moral of the story? Stay skeptical if you hear that "Pirates" is a disappointment.

The Top 40 Films of the Weekend and a luminous "Midnight" after the cut!



In what appears to be the biggest per screen opening of Woody Allen's career, "Midnight In Paris" stunned prognosticators with a tremendous opening, finishing in 12th place overall despite appearing on only 6 screens!!! "Paris" started with $599k and a jaw-dropping $99,834 average per site. Aiding "Midnight In Paris" are Woody Allen's best reviews in years and an attention-grabbing cast, including Rachel McAdams, Kathy Bates, Adrien Brody, Owen Wilson, Marion Cotillard, Michael Sheen, Carla Bruni, and a reported breakout performance by television actor Corey Stoll, has positioned this to be a breakout for Sony Pictures Classics.

In terms of sheer dollar figures, Allen's biggest grossing film was 1985's "Hannah And Her Sisters" which grossed $40.1 million in its run and also scored 3 Oscars. When looking at the Top 25 largest per screen average debuts of all time, no film has earned less than $40 million with a start like this, except for Kevin Smith's forthcoming "Red State", which has not received its thorough national rollout yet. All depends on how Sony Pictures Classics runs with this, but Allen could have his latest film in the conversation for many months to come, including Oscar season, if this opening and the acclaim is any indication.

Within the Top 10, "Bridesmaids" continued to impress, sliding a mere 20.4% in its second weekend; a rarity for comedies. Rapturous reviews and huge "you have to see this" talk spurred it on as counterprogramming for "Pirates". "Bridesmaids" ended the weekend with a 10-day take of slightly less than $60 million overall and will have doubled its production budget by the middle of the week. Very intriguing to see how this holds up with "Hangover Part II" and "Kung Fu Panda 2" expected to deliver huge numbers this coming weekend.

"Priest" saw the biggest dropoff for films within the Top 10 and seemed to hurt the most by the avalanche of attention for "Pirates". Dipping 68.2%, the Paul Bettany-led post-apoc horror film has earned $23.8 million in 10 days and will likely not come anywhere close to earning back its $60 million budget domestically.

Digging deeper in the rankings finds many of the same indie films adding a few screens here and there and chugging right along. "The Double Hour" saw a 10% gain as it rolled out to 36 sites. In its six week run, the thriller has grossed $532k and Samuel Goldwyn seems content in adding a few new locations every weekend. The film grossed $1.2 million overseas and has a production budget of approximately $4.5 million.

Canadian drama "Incendies" added more locations (59 in total) and amassed another $187k, a healthy increase of 38.5%. The Oscar-nominated film has grossed $620k stateside and more than $2.0 million worldwide.

Summit Entertainment's "The Beaver" saw its planned wide release scrapped, as the film only expanded out to 168 sites and not the 600+ it needed to be defined as a wide release. With a poor $1,120 per screen average the film grossed $188k, raising its haul to a mere $580k on a $21 million budget. One of the largest disappointments, based on expectations, for 2011.

Elsewhere, in the second-chance sweepstakes, a handful of films ("Rango", "I Am Number Four", "Limitless") were released to discount and lower-priced second run theaters and one film in particular, "Mars Needs Moms" turned heads by increasing 863%?!?! The film, notoriously branded as one of the biggest bombs of all time, in terms of production budget-to-overall gross, earned more than $100k for the first time in weeks. All is not great news though as the film has still earned a barren $21 million for a film reportedly made for $150 million.

THE WEEKEND BREAKDOWN

#1 Film - "Pirates Of The Caribbean: On Stranger Tides", earned $90.1 million

Last Year's #1 Film at this time: "Shrek Forever After", debuted with $70.8 million

Biggest Per Screen Average: "Midnight In Paris", $99,834 at 6 locations ($599k cumulative)

Worst Per Screen Average (50+ Sites): "Go For It!", $226 at 64 locations ($14k, $172k cumulative)

Largest Increase (50+ Sites): "Mars Needs Moms", +863.0%

Steepest Decline (50+ Sites): "Go For It!", -87.9%

Films Earning More Than $1m for the weekend: 9

Films Which Surpassed $100m: N/A

Films Which Surpassed Reported Budget This Weekend: N/A

The Top 40, with other notables!

TW	LW	DAY	FILM	WKD	TOTAL	% CHG
1	N	3	Pirates Of The Caribbean: On Stranger Tides	$90.1m	$90.1m	New
2	2	10	Bridesmaids	$20.9m	$59.3m	-20.4
3	1	17	Thor	$15.5m	$145.4m	-55.5
4	3	24	Fast Five	$10.6m	$186.2m	-48.3
5	4	10	Priest	$4.8m	$23.8m	-68.2
6	5	38	Rio	$4.7m	$131.7m	-43.4
7	6	17	Jumping The Broom	$3.7m	$31.3m	-47.6
8	7	17	Something Borrowed	$3.5m	$31.5m	-48.8
9	8	31	Water For Elephants	$2.2m	$52.5m	-48.2
10	9	31	Tyler Perry's Madea's Big Happy Family	$957k	$51.7m	-20.8
11	10	45	Soul Surfer	$930k	$40.6m	-49.1
12	N	3	Midnight In Paris	$599k	$599k	New
13	15	10	Everything Must Go	$529k	$1.6m	-33.2
14	13	24	Prom	$504k	$9.7m	-46.3
15	12	52	Insidious	$474k	$52.4m	-50.5
16	18	24	Cave Of Forgotten Dreams	$415k	$2.0m	-12.0
17	14	52	Source Code	$412k	$53.0m	-50.8
18	28	80	Rango	$395k	$121.2	+53.1
19	11	24	Hoodwinked Too! Hood Vs. Evil	$371k	$9.2m	-67.7
20	23	66	Limitless	$341k	$78.1m	-4.7
21	20	66	Win Win	$276k	$9.4m	-31.9
22	16	31	African Cats	$261k	$14.6m	-60.9
23	17	45	Hanna	$260k	$39.1m	-56.5
24	21	52	Hop	$257k	$107.2m	-36.1
25	22	66	The Lincoln Lawyer	$253k	$56.5m	-36.2
26	25	45	Born To Be Wild IMAX	$250k	$5.4m	-22.8
27	19	38	The Conspirator	$241k	$10.9m	-48.1
28	24	73	Jane Eyre	$213k	$10.4m	-36.9
29	33	17	The Beaver	$188k	$580k	+16.7
30	35	31	Incendies	$187k	$620k	+38.5
31	26	59	Diary Of A Wimpy Kid...Rodrick Rules	$185k	$51.9m	-36.4
32	49	94	I Am Number Four	$177k	$55.0m	+202.7
33	29	45	Arthur	$131k	$32.8m	-44.8
34	31	101	Gnomeo And Juliet	$125k	$99.5m	-31.5
35	40	38	The Double Hour	$118k	$533k	+10.4
36	32	80	The Adjustment Bureau	$109k	$62.5m	-35.4
37	74	73	Mars Needs Moms	$106k	$21.0m	+863.0
38	30	73	Battle: Los Angeles	$101k	$83.4m	-46.8
39	41	430	Hubble 3D	$99k	$25.0m	-6.2
40	27	38	Scream 4	$91k	$37.7m	-67.1

BUBBLING UNDER INCREASES AND OPENINGS:

43. “13 Assassins”, $72k, $302k total, +37.1%

46. “Bill Cunningham New York”, $50k, $1.1m total, +3.6%

50. “L'Amour Fou”, $41k, $100k total, +10.0%

51. “The First Grader”, $38k, $67k total, +86.3

54. "35 And Ticking", $30k, NEW

Box Office Bulletin: "Pirates" arrive with a "soft" $90 million opening!

Via Box Office Mojo, The Numbers, Deadline, and other sources:

Delivering the biggest opening weekend of 2011, "Pirates Of The Caribbean: On Stranger Tides" opened to an estimated $90.1 million in total receipts, easily winning the box office weekend. While $90.1 million is never a number to discount or place in ill regard, reports declared this opening as "soft" or "underwhelming". Comparatively speaking with the previous "Pirates" films, this was the lowest grossing and lowest attended opening weekend for the film franchise, at least in North America.

Overseas counts told a much different story as "Pirates" amassed a staggering $256.3 million, rolling its worldwide cumulative total to $346.4 million. Deadline reports that with the production and marketing budgets added together, this film cost $420 million to bring to the screen, a figure which is already within sight after just 5 days of being on screen.

Delving further into the "soft" opening for a moment, 2003's "Pirates...The Curse Of The Black Pearl" started at $46.6 million in July 2003 but earned more than $300 million domestically. The film also earned Johnny Depp his first Oscar nomination and springboarded the sequel, 2006's "...Dead Man's Chest" to $423.3 million and a ranking as the 8th biggest grossing film of all time in North America. The third entry, 2007's "...At World's End" returned closer to the numbers earned by the first film in the series, but still cleared $309.4 million. Worldwide the films have grossed more than $2 billion dollars, not counting the sums calculated for "...On Stranger Tides".

All of that to say, this may be the first film in history to earn $90.1 million stateside and $256.3 million overseas and be viewed as a disappointment.

"Pirates..." opened unchallenged as Mel Gibson's "The Beaver" saw its wide expansion muted to just 168 locations, a gain of 105 new sites. However, one new film delivered a stunning opening with 6 locations hosting it.

NEW OPENINGS:

"Midnight In Paris", directed and written by Woody Allen, reversed Allen's recent troubles in delivering a worthwhile opening. Allen consistently generates a film a year and his films often are given small platform releases. His last sizeable opening, 2008's "Vicky Cristina Barcelona", a film which earned Penelope Cruz a Supporting Actress Oscar, started at $3.8 million at nearly 700 screens, but for a platform opening, you have to go all the way back 2005's "Melinda and Melinda" which started at $74k on 1 screen to find anything comparable to this start. The film also earned Allen his best reviews in years and Oscar talk has started to float around the film's screenplay. This is Allen's third straight film to be released by Sony Pictures Classics and has already banked $5.9 million overseas.

Some lovely "Bridesmaids" keep people's attention after the cut...



/>ALSO OF NOTE

"Bridesmaids" continued to impress by sliding a negligible 19.2%, a rarity amongst comedies, but certainly amongst R-rated comedies. Winning the daily Monday-Thursday box office rankings earned the film profitability on Tuesday and the film has banked nearly $60 million in its two weekends. The film had a production budget of $32.5 million and the inevitable sequel talk has begun to surface.

Some smaller films gained screen locations but lost money from the previous weekend. Will Ferrell's acclaimed drama "Everything Must Go" increased to nearly 250 locations (+27 sites) but slid 33% nonetheless. Ferrell's film has earned distributor Roadside Attractions an estimated $1.6 million in 10 days.

Werner Herzog's 3-D documentary "Cave Of Forgotten Dreams" hit its first bump in the road as expanded to over 100 sites, but lost an estimated 7%. Herzog's documentary has earned nearly $2 million and can certainly reverse its course with buzz still swirling around the film.

"The First Grader", which was the opening night film at my local Seattle International Film Festival, saw its per screen average plummet as it moved from 3 sites to 17. The film still earned $39k but saw its per screen average slide from $6,832 to $2,312.

The only other new release which received tracking for an estimated count was Image Entertainment's urban romantic comedy, "35 And Ticking". Starting in 6 theaters, the film earned $31k.

Overall, the weekend box office earned an estimated $158.3 million grossed by the Top 12 films, a gain of an additional 22.8% from the previous weekend. The Top 12 from the same weekend in 2010 grossed $143.1 million, aided by the $70.8 million opening weekend for another fourth film in a franchise, "Shrek Forever After".

THE TOP 10 (Estimates, with Actuals reported on Monday)

1. "Pirates Of The Caribbean: On Stranger Tides" (Buena Vista), $90.1 million, NEW
2. "Bridesmaids" (Universal), $21.1 million, $59.5 million, 2 wks
3. "Thor" (Paramount), $15.5 million, $145.4 million, 3 wks
4. "Fast Five" (Universal), $10.6 million, $186.2 million, 4 wks
5. "Rio" (20th Century Fox), $4.7 million, $131.6 million, 6 wks
6. "Priest" (Screen Gems), $4.6 million, $23.7 million, 2 wks
7. "Jumping The Broom" (TriStar/Sony/Columbia), $3.7 million, $31.3 million, 3 wks
8. "Something Borrowed" (Warner Bros.), $3.4 million, $31.4 million, 3 wks
9. "Water For Elephants" (20th Century Fox), $2.2 million, $52.4 million, 5 wks
10. "Tyler Perry's Madea's Big Happy Family" (Lionsgate), $990k, $51.8 million, 5 wks